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Post by johnc on Dec 15, 2020 7:41:13 GMT
My wife has been passengering our daughter in the Mini most days as she builds up her miles before her test and as a consequence the i-Pace has been in the driveway not doing much for a while. I thought I had better use it for a week to make sure the brakes didn't seize up and just to give it some use.
The first thing I noticed was how quickly it heats up the cabin (I could pre-heat it but it has to be plugged in for that) but I haven't quite sorted out the air con because the passenger side of the windscreen and the side windows don't demist very well. I really need to explore the settings before I set off because the touch screen is impossible to learn on the move.
Our neighbours don't even know I have left in the morning which is a short term bonus for them but it is all a bit strange for me. I have only been driving it for 2 days now but it is bringing out the boy in me at the traffic lights. It is so amazingly fast from standstill that nothing can live with it without using launch control, full revs and lots of noise. I just give it half throttle and 2 secs later I am doing 40mph. I know it doesn't involve corners, handling and a tactile feel through the steering wheel but it's still great fun. As for grip, cornering and handling it does that better than most supposedly fast cars too. I think I will enjoy my week.
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Post by michael on Dec 15, 2020 10:51:25 GMT
Do you miss the noise? Also, how do you charge yours? Do you just plug it in overnight every night?
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Post by johnc on Dec 15, 2020 12:59:32 GMT
Do you miss the noise? Also, how do you charge yours? Do you just plug it in overnight every night? I miss the noise when I am on the open road but not around town. We have a charging point at the house and when the car is being used daily we charge it up maybe twice a week but usually only once. If you want the car all warmed up before you get in to it, you have to have it plugged in - it's not a major issue unplugging it and winding up the cable unless it is pouring down. |
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Post by michael on Dec 15, 2020 13:01:25 GMT
Has the dent on your electricity bill been notable?
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Post by johnc on Dec 15, 2020 13:05:41 GMT
Has the dent on your electricity bill been notable? I wouldn't say notable but it is up maybe £25/mth. However that might just be the wife using the tumble drier too much! |
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Post by Martin on Dec 15, 2020 13:11:37 GMT
Sounds like it suits its role as a second car pretty well.
Harry M mentioned rapidly disappearing / overly optimistic starting range in his review of the id3, have you noticed that? Sounds like it doesn't get used that much, as it's easier to take the X5 hybrid or one of the other cars. I was with my iPace driving colleague yesterday and he's trying to get someone to swap with him, he enjoys driving it but the charging infrastructure is driving him completely mad.
I absolutely love the pre-heating on mine at the moment. I rarely remember to set the timer in the car but the remote has a really long range so doing it from inside the house (or even inside a depot last week) works fine. All it needs is 15-20min and I've got frost or even condensation free windows, a warm cabin and a heater that blows warm air immediately when I start the engine. It'a also been useful when we've been on longer journeys and have had to stop to feed the little man, because when you turn the engine off you have the option to fire up the fuel burning heater. Normally I like taking the Golf in the winter because it's kept in the garage, but it feels cold getting in it now and I miss the heated steering wheel!
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Post by Martin on Dec 15, 2020 13:15:44 GMT
Has the dent on your electricity bill been notable? I wouldn't say notable but it is up maybe £25/mth. However that might just be the wife using the tumble drier too much! How many miles a month is it doing? My Boss says his Model 3 costs c2p to charge at home (he's got a low overnight rate and an app that logs it through the charger), so £25 a month would get you 1,200 miles. Bit cheaper than the M5! £25 would get me about 135 miles. |
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Post by johnc on Dec 15, 2020 13:37:47 GMT
The car only does about 500/600 miles a month but we don't have any cheap night time tariff. The cold mornings certainly result in a reduction in mileage once you have the heated seat, steering wheel, windscreen and rear window switched on but if you are selective with these and turn them off or down as soon as you can, it isn't too bad. Since yesterday I have done about 35 miles and have used up about 45 miles of range but my hands and backside have been suitably warm in the process.
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Post by PG on Dec 15, 2020 15:24:04 GMT
I remember being told at the preview drive event I went to that the i-Pace heating used the battery coolant to warm the cabin if required which used a lot less electrical supplementation, so was more efficient.
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Post by johnc on Dec 15, 2020 16:39:14 GMT
I've just been out to pick up my daughter from school because it is pouring and I arrived back at work with 4 miles more range than I started with! Magic at work.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 15, 2020 16:58:34 GMT
I've just been out to pick up my daughter from school because it is pouring and I arrived back at work with 4 miles more range than I started with! Magic at work. Did you forget to unplug? |
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Post by Martin on Dec 15, 2020 17:01:18 GMT
I've just been out to pick up my daughter from school because it is pouring and I arrived back at work with 4 miles more range than I started with! Magic at work. Did you forget to unplug? It's because he's been all 12th today, racing vans away from the lights and when he drives normally the range comes back! |
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Post by michael on Dec 15, 2020 17:07:12 GMT
It's because he's been all 12th today He's not that bad! |
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Post by Martin on Dec 15, 2020 17:08:43 GMT
It's because he's been all 12th today He's not that bad! You're right....sorry John!  |
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Post by johnc on Dec 15, 2020 17:51:50 GMT
Not sure what "being all 12th" means!!
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Post by Martin on Dec 15, 2020 17:56:16 GMT
Not sure what "being all 12th" means!! A joke is never funny if you have to explain and mine are never great to start with!! I was thinking about your quick getaways from a standstill and thinking back to the TLGPs that the ex forum member with the RS4 used to have with vans. |
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Post by Boxer6 on Dec 15, 2020 20:23:26 GMT
I've just been out to pick up my daughter from school because it is pouring and I arrived back at work with 4 miles more range than I started with! Magic at work. My old-school VAG diesel does that!! |
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Post by johnc on Dec 16, 2020 9:13:10 GMT
Not sure what "being all 12th" means!! A joke is never funny if you have to explain and mine are never great to start with!! I was thinking about your quick getaways from a standstill and thinking back to the TLGPs that the ex forum member with the RS4 used to have with vans. Sorry for being slow Martin. I've got to say that I find fast getaways in the i-Pace much more tempting than in the M5, probably because they are so easy with no drama and no concern about everyone turning to hear where the noise came from. |
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Post by Martin on Dec 16, 2020 9:20:18 GMT
I've just been out to pick up my daughter from school because it is pouring and I arrived back at work with 4 miles more range than I started with! Magic at work. My old-school VAG diesel does that!! Both our cars do that when I use them after Lindsay has had them for a couple of days doing short local runs. I went to Chester in the Golf last week (160 mile journey), left with 280 miles range and arrived with 230 miles. |
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